The mobile workforce is expected to reach 1.3 billion by 2015 and there are already an estimated 42 million freelancers operating virtually in the workforce.

Mike Pugh, an expert in the world of mobile work and executive at eVoice, a virtual phone system helping thousands of mobile workers and small businesses stay in touch, can offer tips for these mobile professionals to better communicate, collaborate and conduct business while on the go. Especially as 71 percent of small businesses have become more mobile in the past two years.

Mobile Business Communications 101:

1. Use voicemail strategically – Call screening allows you to hear the name of the person calling so you can decide to pick up or transfer the call to voicemail. This gives you greater control over your time and productivity by prioritizing your calls.

2. Present a unified front – Make it easy for your clients by providing one central phone number. A cloud-based phone system provides a business phone number, with professional greetings and menus, that routes to wherever you are – cell phone, home or office –24/7.

3. Go VoIP – A virtual phone system with a VoIP app can automatically transfer calls from your network carrier to the Internet whenever WiFi is available – and that means free minutes and no data charges. This helps you stay connected in service dead zones or rural areas, too.

4. Conference in the Cloud – Web Conferencing can turn your desktop or laptop into a mobile office that allows you to maintain business class communications from any location. You can perform live demonstrations in real time, share and exchange files, and collaborate on documents with multiple participants.